Caring Campus Employee Spotlight: Pat Lamson

When Pat Lamson talks about health information technology, she does so with conviction shaped by perseverance, mentorship, and a deep respect for the profession.

Professor Lamson, a 2013 graduate of St. Philip’s College (SPC), now serves as a Clinical Coordinator and Assistant Professor in the college’s Health Information Technology program, which has been part of the college’s program offerings for 58 years.

She began her studies at St. Philip’s College in 2010, initially planning to earn a certificate. That goal soon expanded into an associate degree and, eventually, a career in teaching.

“I started at SPC thinking I was only going to get a certificate, and when I got here, my vision changed,” she said. “I received my associate degree, and that changed my life.”

Professor Lamson has worked at St. Philip’s College for eight years and holds the Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) credential. Last semester, she taught eight classes. This semester, she is teaching four. The program enrolled 42 students this fall, and the college expects 22 graduates in May 2026.

“We prepare students and schedule them to sit for the RHIT test during their last semester to ensure our students graduate with their degree and have the credentials to begin their career right away,” she said.

She describes health information technology as an honorable profession that requires integrity and care.

“When I tell my students this is an honorable job, I mean it,” she said. “You are handling the most private information for your patients. It’s sensitive information. It’s very personal. You learn your patients.”

Her teaching philosophy reflects both compassion and realism, shaped by her own experiences as a student.

“I realize that when life happens, it affects learning,” she said.

As a student, she once faced the possibility of missing clinical rotations because she could not afford the costs. Faculty members helped her secure a Presidential Scholarship in 2012, a moment she credits as pivotal.

Inside the classroom, she brings creativity to a technical field. She designed an instructional game called “Kill the Patient,” in which students assign diseases to a diagram of a heart to understand how illness affects the body and how medical terminology breaks down. She also created an escape room exercise called “Indiana Bones,” where students work in teams to solve clues and unlock doors by finding medical terminology definitions in their books.

For Professor Lamson, the journey from student to professor is rooted in gratitude.

“I’m here because someone believed in me first,” she said. “I’m here because someone gave back to me when I needed it. When I was able to give back to the SPC community and be a teacher, I jumped at the chance.”